Shabby Chic!

Shabby Chic.....that's the first phrase that comes to mind when I look at this card. I made this card front about 2 years ago. It has been on my sample board until GASP, SU decides to retire "Natural Beauty". It really was one of my under utilized stamp sets. You know the story, you get a stamp set at Convention and it sits in your stamp closet. You don't realize all it's potential until after it retires. Ugh!! I better whip out this year's Convention sets so they don't feel as neglected!!

This card is watercolored (I know, DUH!!!) on Whisper White cardstock. You see, to years ago I did not know about watercolor paper yet. Oh, the horror of being naive. Like I said, it's been two years, but I believe I used my markers (coloring on plastic and picking up color with my aquapainter) to watercolor this baby.

I have to get busy stamping for my Techniques class tomorrow. I've been such a procrastinator lately. If you live in Carver County, MN and you would love to take a class, send me an email. I would love to meet you!!! My email address is plchesky@optonline.net. The fee for this class is $7.00.

Happy Stamping!!!

Thanks to Our Friends!

My father-in-law passed away on August 2nd. He had been ill for a while and never really recovered right from a surgery in June. I made some "thank you" cards for dear friends of ours who sent us flowers and a great gift basket. If you are interested in sending awesome gift baskets, check out www.baskets4occasion.com. It is AMAZING!!! I should've taken a picture before we tore all the goodies apart.

Anyway, the shell of this card is from my stamp camp this month. I wanted to do something different with it. I pulled out my "In the Spotlight" hostess stamp set and stamped away. I love how this set works with all the different punches we offer.

Thanks again to all our friends....we miss you very much!!! Have a great time at the Labor Day parties. We'll be in NY in spirit!!!

Now here is all the card stuff.....

stamp sets: Linen, In the Spotlight
paper: Blue Bayou, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
ink: Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate
accessories: pewter brads, soft sky double-stitched grosgrain, scallop punch, 1/2" and 3/4" circle punch

Happy Stamping!!!

A Preview from the Holiday Mini

I do not want to wish the rest of the summer away, but I truly love the Fall. I like decorating my house with the warm colors, my autumn and Halloween decorations, cooking apple pies for my family, pumpkin picking, and so on.......

When I first got my peek at the new Holiday Mini catalog, this set just jumped out at me. It's called Autumn Harvest and it just screams my favorite technique: watercoloring.

I built the color of the pumpkins.....starting with More Mustard, then Pumpkin Pie and finally with Really Rust. Like always, I recommend using watercolor paper. It truly makes a difference in the blending.

This card also uses one of the brand new designer patterned papers: Apple Cider. I am not usually one to add patterned paper to my cards. So, this one is pretty demure. I'll get there some day....just give me some time!!!!

I debated about putting a greeting of some type to the right of the pumpkins but decided against it in the end. I can add one when it's time to send this card to a special someone.

I'll post again tomorrow. My 4 year old niece is coming for a sleepover tonight. We're all very excited!!! We had some wicked storms come through last night. We lost power at 2:30ish am, and the tornado sirens started wailing a little after that. We went to the basement 'til the storm calmed down. So, needless to say, we are all a little tired today!!!! We're in for more storms tonight......ugh!!!!

I also have to prep for my Technique Class on Friday. If you live in the Twin Cities area, and are interested in taking one of my classes, send me an email. You're more than welcome to join the fun!!!

Happy Stamping everyone!!!!!

A Very Easy Treat Box

I kinda wish I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator when my kids were in elementary school. That way, I could make up cute little treat boxes to hand out at class parties. This box was a cinch to make. It's called a 2-5-7-10 box and the instructions can be found here.

I decided to use my Garden Whimsy set again (3 out of the 4 projects at this stamp camp used this set). The box itself is wheeled with the Whimsy wheel on Bashful Blue cardstock using Bashful Blue ink.

The snail is inked with the rock-n-roll technique in both Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue.

I hope you get a chance to make the 2-5-7-10 box. They are fun and can be adapted to any event!!! I can't wait to make some Halloween ones.

stamp sets: Garden Whimsy, Whimsy SA jumbo
paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Whisper White
ink: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Basic Black
accessories: tool kit, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, white gel pen, sponges, celery grosgrain
Happy Stamping!!

Love this Set!!!

There were two stamp sets that I had to have when I saw the new catty: Big on Christmas and Garden Whimsy. Of course, there are so many other stamp sets I want now, but these were the first two.

This card was also from my "Flower Frenzy" stamp camp. I wanted to teach my girls the Rock and Roll technique and also how to emboss with the Cropodile.

stamp sets: Garden Whimsy
paper: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Whisper White
ink: So Saffron, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Basic Black
accessories: pewter hodgepodge circle clip, Cropodile, sponges, celery grosgrain

Happy stamping!!!!

Flower Frenzy!!

This past Friday, I held my "Flower Frenzy" stamp camp. We focused on projects with a flower or cute garden critter. This card was one of the projects we made.

This card measures 4.25"x4.25". Rather than making a full flower, I showed the versatility of this set. It is so easy to make cone flowers too!!! I also showed how you can use your piercing tool to make your stem and leaves!!

stamp sets: Pick a Petal, Linen
paper: Blue Bayou, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
ink: Blue Bayou
accessories: vintage brads, sponges, white gel pen, tool kit, marker, Blue Bayou stitched grosgrain ribbon

I don't have any classes scheduled this week since it is MN state fair week. Woohoo!!! My next class is my brand new Technique Class on Friday, Aug. 31st!! We'll be learning two stamping techniques (making technique reminder cards) and then making a card using one or both of those techniques. It's a great deal for a class fee of $7.00.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!!! Happy Stamping everyone!!

A Simple Make-n-Take

This past Sunday, my mom held a workshop for me. The guests were all new stampers. It was exciting as I've never had a workshop with everyone brand new to stamping.

My goal of the afternoon was to show them how easy it is to stamp your own cards and gifts. We made two projects: this one with a two step stamp and one with a line stamp that you need to color in.

I really like Blossoms Abound. It is about the easiest 2 step stamp to line up. Everyone ooh-ed and ahh-ed about this card. It's a really simple card....no difficult layers, no patterned paper, no punches. It's just Stamps, Ink and Paper (oh, and a little of the new gold cord). The guests were really impressed with the stamping off technique so they can build their color.

All in all, everyone had a great time. They were not intimidated with the product. Mom had some great sales, and she earned lots of goodies for FREE.

stamp sets: Blossoms Abound
paper: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
ink: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
accessories: sponges, elastic gold cording

I have my Flower Frenzy Stamp Camp tonight!!! I need to finish prepping for that!!!
Happy Stamping everyone!!!

So Sorry!

I don't know where the time has gone this week. I want to apologize for not getting some stamping done this week. Well, actually, I have been stamping. I just can't show you what I have been stamping. I was invited to a "By Invitation Only Holiday WOW Card Swap"(jeez, that was a mouthful). As soon as I get my swaps back, I will post my card. I am very proud of it!!!

When the catalog first came out, I REALLY did not like Fabulous Flowers. Then, Jenn Balcer (I really love her work) started changing my mind. By the time I came home from Convention, it was a done deal. I AM GOING TO GET FABULOUS FLOWERS. So, I ordered, it was delivered, and I stamped. Here is my first (and only, so far) card using it. It frustrated me for a while how to get the multi colors into the center of the stamp. You can't get that with the Rock and Roll technique. What I finally did was ink the stamp with Pale Plum and then use my Perfect Plum marker to color the edges of the petals. I did one big HUFF and stamped. I want to play with some other techniques (daubers, Poppin Pastels, aquapainters) to see all the great effects with this big flower.

Have you played with Fabulous Flowers yet? Please leave a comment and tell me all about it!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

stamp sets: Fabulous Flowers, Baroque Motifs

cardstock: Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Mellow Moss, Whisper White

ink: Pale Plum, Mellow Moss

accessories: sponges, Ice rhinestone brads, liquid 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, dimensionals

Love U

I just love this card!!! I made it a while ago.....and then it suddenly disappeared. It finally reappeared.....in the kitchen (gotta love those little elves that move stuff in the middle of the night).

Anyway, the base of this card is Wild Wasabi. The other layers are Very Vanilla (stamped with Polka Dot and Petals (in Wild Wasabi and River Rock) and Canvas (in River Rock)). This layer is mounted on Basic Black. The pocket was created with both Basic Black and Very Vanilla. I used the "All About U" stamp set for the pocket. Of course, the adorable froggy is from "Unfrogettable". He is stamped with Black StazOn on watercolor paper. He is then watercolored with a mix of River Rock and Wild Wasabi. Of course, as a typical Patti card, I needed to add some pen work and some sponging.

Today was a fun day. Amanda and I hit Kohls for some serious shoe shopping. She got the most adorable shoes for school!!! She seems to be attracted to chocolate brown this year. It was then off to Walmart for some serious grocery shopping....gotta hate when that domestic stuff gets in the way of stamping and shopping. Good news though, DH brought in my box containing my new Stampin' Up! coat I ordered. Now, I just need to wait til it gets a bit colder to actually wear it. As much as I love the coat, I am sure not wishing that cold MN weather to get here any sooner than it needs to!!!

Happy stamping!! Have a good evening!!!

P.S. This is an additional view of the card with the message lifted out from the pocket!!!!

Amanda's Birthday Card

This is the card I made Amanda for her 13th birthday. You see, Amanda is this HUGE Tinkerbell fan. As I do not have a Tinkerbell stamp, the fairies from "Fairy Nice" (love this set) just had to do!!! Amanda loved the card. She is such a stamper. Here's some of her comments: "Oh, Is that watercolor paper? I love the glitter gel pen all around the wand. Did you stamp the 13 on watercolor paper too?". She is just too much!!!

Anyway, I tried to use some of her favorites. She loves pink. So, the base card is Pretty in Pink. The next layer uses her favorite background stamp: Dots and Daisies on Gable Green. I sponged around the edges to get some more depth. I used my Marvy Giga and Mega punches for the scallops. The focal image is watercolored using the lids of my ink pads and my aquapainters on watercolor paper. Just keep adding more color until you get the amount of shadowing and highlighting that you want.
Amanda had a great day (once her hair calmed down......it looked gorgeous about an hour after we took the curlers out.....and stayed gorgeous until she jumped into the pool last night with her friend). We went shopping.....the perfect thing for a 13 year old. We went to dinner at Famous Dave's (a very yummy BBQ place wih incredible Chicken Wild Rice Soup), and then headed home for homemade chocolate mousse cake. All in all, it was a great birthday.

So, today life gets back to normal. My dirty laundry has multiplied overnight.....I swear it breeds faster than those little bunnies in the front yard...LOL!!! It is also my goal to clean up my stamping room. I want to get ready for my SU garage sale. That requires making a spreadsheet and photographing all my retired stamp sets. It's gonna be a long day (so, in order to get through it, I will just HAVE to stamp!!!!).

Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Amanda!!!

Today my baby turns 13. I feel SO old. I now have two teenagers in the house. Yes, I can feel all your sympathy!!! LOL!!!

This picture was taken about 4 months ago....in the car....right after having her braces removed. She would freak if she knew I was using this picture for her b'day announcement.

I would take a picture of her today, but she is having a "teen moment". You see, she bought these new spiral hair curlers at Claire's yesterday. Yup, you guessed it, hair is now too curly......"Mom, you put them in wrong".......ah, the joy of having a teenage girl!!!!

Well, Amanda, I give you all my love...today and always!!! Happy 13th birthday sweetheart!!!

Love, Mom

A Quickie!!

Mom came over the other day to make a card for her friend Jeff who is having a birthday next week. I don't have a ton of masculine stamp sets, so she decided on using Happy Camper. We sat down to make a quickie card, and this is what I came up with.

I actually had the three pieces of cardstock leftover from my Christmas in July stamp camp. The base card is Always Artichoke stamped with the Flannel Plaid BG stamp. The next layer is More Mustard. The focal point layer is Very Vanilla. The bear is stamped with Close to Cocoa as is the fire. The flames are colored in with a combination of Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie markers to simulate fire. The smoke is stamped with Basic Gray. I overstamped the Very Vanilla layer with the Linen BG in Creamy Caramel ink. I then sponged Close to Cocoa around the edges.

I debated about putting the sentiment above the bear, but I didn't think I would like it. So, I decided to use the Circle of Friendship stamp set and my circle punches (1" and 1 1/4") instead. The circle has a scrap of caramel grosgrain ribbon and is placed on a dimensional for some added height.

It's a busy weekend here. My adorable niece Emma (and goddaughter) is ONE today. Happy Birthday pumpkin. Aunt Patti and Uncle Dennis love you SO much!!! We have a Twins game today. My brother is making a sign about Emma's b'day (i.e. a "Circle Me Bert" sign). Let's hope she gets her big moment on tv. Tomorrow is Emma's big party. It's hard to believe she is one already...where has the time gone.

My Open House went fabulous last night!! A BIG thank you to all you ladies who came. I hope you had as much fun as I did!!!

Door Prize Winners
FREE Stamp Camp = April W.
$15 Gift Certificate = Pat D.
FREE stamp set/love notes = Becca K.

It's So Easy

It is so easy to make a matching gift set when you are a papercrafter!!! No running to the stores trying to find that perfect gift. Just keep some candles on hand and stamp away.

This gift set was a project from last month's Christmas in July Stamp Camp. It uses my favorite Christmas stamp set from the new catty: Big on Christmas.

The candle is wrapped with a sleeve of Brilliant Blue cardstock that was crimped using the Paper Crimper. The focal image was stamped on Whisper White, colored in with markers and aquapainters, and finally mounted on 2 layers: Real Red and Bashful Blue. Of course, true to a "Patti Project", there is sponging and pen doodling involved!!

The gift card uses the same colors as the candle sleeve. The Bashful Blue layer is wheeled with the Whimsy jumbo wheel. The head of the snowman is cut out and popped up on a small tag punched out with the tag punch.

I think this gift set will be perfect for almost anyone on your gift giving list.

Tonight is my Open House. I have to start getting ready for that!!!

Happy Stamping!!

Another Convention Swap!!

I've been asking SU for a while for a decent baseball set. While this is not exactly what I was hoping for (I really wanted a player), this one was close enough to fit the bill. One thing I noticed at SU events (convention, regionals, etc...) was the lack of masculine cards. I decided to create this swap for all the men in our life.

stamp sets: Just Baseball, Sanded, Hugs & Wishes
cardstock: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red
ink: Creamy Caramel, Not Quite Navy, Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red, WW craft
accessories: White gel pen, 1/2" circle punch, dimensionals

Happy Stamping!!!

We are Fine!!

I woke up this morning to several IMs and emails making sure we weren't affected by the I-35 MN bridge collapse. We are fine, and as far as I know, all of our family and friends are okay as well. It is mindboggling to see the devastation of this bridge collapse. I know there will be more bad news today since it is now a recovery effort. Please keep the families of the victims in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks again for your concern!!! Give your family some extra hugs today because you just never know............

Life is Back to Normal

Wow.....it does take a few days when Mom goes away for everything to get back to normal. I am still knee deep in laundry, but that will be under control soon enough.

Anyway, here is one of my Convention swaps. This one was for my 4th level upline's dinner. There were about 40 of us at Buca di Beppo. The food was yummy, and the company was even better.

This card uses one of my favorite stamp sets from the new catalog. It is called "Garden Whimsy". In fact, my August stamp camp is going to be pretty much based on this stamp set. The theme of this month's Stamp Camp is called "Flower Frenzy". It is scheduled for Friday, August 17th. If you live in the Twin Cities area and want to attend, just email me. I'll be happy to add you to this list.

Now, back to the card. It only uses two colors: Purely Pomegranate and Pumpkin Pie. They sure do look stunning together. The butterfly is stamped with the Purely Pomegranate ink and then stamped again with Versamark (thank you Mr. Stampamajig) and embossed with Irridescent Ice EP (see bottom picture to see the sparkle). It really is a GO-JUS card in person (if I do say so myself).

I am glad to be back......I know it's been a while, and I truly apologize. I have several projects ready to upload!! So, there will be plenty of projects over the new week.

I have to get ready for my Open House on Friday. Once again, if you live near the Twin Cities and are looking for a fun demonstrator, give me a shout and come to my Open House. I LOVE meeting new people!!!

Have a great night everyone.........HAPPY STAMPING!!!!!